Delays that have been plaguing work on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) since its inception do not seem to end, with the final phase of the project not appearing poised for completion even by December-end.
The 158-km stretch has the final arc between Shamirpet and Pedda Amberpet which needs to be completed to form the ring around the city beyond its suburbs. This 33.33-km stretch was to be ready by November last year, but the deadline was extended to June this year and later to December.
Marked with certain operational glitches and tardy pace of work, the project does not show signs of completion even in the next 50 days or so. According to officials, the endeavour now is to ensure that at least the ORR is completed in all respects and opened for traffic between Keesara and Pedda Amberpet.
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Work on the final stretch was taken up in three packages, and it was awarded to two contractors. The packages are the 10.3-km Shamirpet – Keesara stretch, 11-km package between Keesara and Ghatkesar and 12-km Ghatkesar - Pedda Amberpet package.
The progress of work on the first package has been termed tardy, and officials have been pushing for its early completion.
“The other two also lag behind a bit, but we are hoping to be able to connect Keesara and Pedda Amberpet by next month-end,” an official said.
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The Railways gave approval for an RoB near Ghatkesar recently, and work on this will be taken up soon.
“Since it could be completed only by March-April next year, we are looking at a temporary diversion to connect with the existing RoB here,” he added.